Grafting a Seam from the Purl Side

Grafting a seam with a kitchener stitch is much easier and nicer looking if I work from the purl side.  Before I ran onto this method, I stayed away from grafting a seam like the plague.  I knew how to do it but it sure didn't look very nice.  But it's just so easy for me now and looks much better, totally invisible. I hope you try it the next time you have occassion to graft a seam.  It's particularly nice when used to close the seam across the toe of a cuff down sock.

To kitchener stitch a seam, begin by having both edges scrapped off with several rows of waste yarn.  Then fold fabric in half, with the purl sides out and the waste yarn sandwiched in between the layers.







Begin stitching from the yarn tail side.  Use a blunt nose needle to minimize yarn splitting.  I’m using a contrasting (blue) yarn to highlight the stitches.  Insert needle with the yarn tail into the bottom of the outermost stitch and bring it up through the outermost stitch on the other (top) side.  Pull yarn through both stitches.




From the same (top) side, insert the needle into the next stitch from the top down.










At the same time, insert needle into the previously worked stitch of the other (bottom) side.  Pull yarn through both stitches.









On the same side as last stitch (bottom), insert needle from the new stitch on the bottom side and into the previously worked stitch of the other (top) side.  Pull yarn through both stitches.








From the last stitch worked on the same (top) side, insert needle into the next new stitch and into the previously worked stitch on the other (bottom) side.  You will always have 2 yarn strands in each stitch.







Continue in this manner across the row, keeping your tension snug but not tight and trying to duplicate the original tension of your work.  The folded over waste yarn helps to keep the tension even.  You will soon get into a rhythm of ‘old/new, old/new’ on each side.









Finished row of grafting.








Turn work inside out with waste yarn on the outside.  Notice your new row of stitches (in contrasting blue yarn).










Remove waste yarn and admire your perfectly grafted seam!











NOTE:  When I graft a sock toe, I catch the knot of each stitch from the last row of each side before I start grafting the seam.  This will close any holes that may have developed by stretching the yarn between the ribber and main bed and will minimize the ‘ears’ that may form.  Do the same on the other side of the toe after completing the grafting and before tying off.
(slisen.blogspot.com)
 

Dishcloths, Manually Tucked on Midgauge Machine

Machine:  KX-350  Midgauge, 7mm
Yarn:  Cotton Carpet Warp, 8/4
Tension:  T3
Gauge:  Unimportant

These dishcloths are my favorite, absorbent, easy and just last forever.  These patterns are intended to be a learning lesson in tucking on a manual machine.  The tucking methods and their variations can be used in many applications such as shawls, scarves, blankets, garments, towels, etc.

They can be made in any width or length by adjusting number of cast-on stitches and number of rows. 

SINGLE ROW TUCK:
1)   CO 45 sts with waste yarn and ravel cord.
2)   e-wrap CO each needle.
3)   RC000, T3, K2R.
4)   Engage the left holding lever.
5)   *  Using the every other needle pusher, pull every other needle out to HP, starting with the first needle.
6)   With COR, K2R.
7)   Using the every other needle pusher, pull every other needle out to HP, starting with the second needle.  You can tell which needles to pull out by looking at the stitches in the previous row.  There will be 2 loops of yarn on the stitches already tucked in the previous row.  Pull out the needles next to the ones already tucked.
8)   K2R.  *
9)   Continue from * to * until RC120 or length desired.
10)  With COR, take carriage off hold and K1R to left.
11)  Backstitch BO.

DOUBLE ROW TUCK:
1)   CO as in steps 1 thru 3 above, except use T2.
2)   **  Using the every other needle pusher, pull out to hold position every other needle starting with the first needle.
3)   Set carriage to Hold in both directions, K2R.
4)   Take machine OFF Hold in both directions, K2R.
5)   Using the every other needle pusher, pull out to hold position every other needle starting with the second needle.
6)   Set carriage to Hold in both directions, K2R.
7)   Take machine OFF Hold in both directions, K2R.  **
8)   Continue from ** to ** until RC110 or length desired.
9)   With COL after 2 stockinette rows, backstitch BO.

HONEYCOMB TUCK:
1)   CO as in steps 1 thru 3 as in the first pattern, except use T2.
2)   **  With the 1x3 needle pusher, starting with the 4th needle, bring forward every 4^th  needle to HP.
3)   Set both holding cam levers to H, K3R.
4)   Take machine off hold and K2R.
5)   With the 1x3 needle pusher, starting with the 2nd needle, bring forward every 4^th  needle to HP.
6)   Set both holding cam levers to H, K3R.
7)   Take machine off hold and K2R. ***
8)   Repeat from *** to *** until RC 100 or desired length.
9)   With COL after 2 stockinette rows, backstitch BO.

FINISHING:
Pull out ravel cord and remove waste yarn.  Weave in ends.

You may finish the edges in any manner you wish by crocheting around, working a pie crust or worm edging, etc.  I worked a 3 st pie crust trim for 8 rows at T2 with knit side facing and the R part lever engaged.   With the ‘honeycomb’ pattern, I worked the pie crust trim with the purl side facing because of its excessive curling from the knit side.

NOTES:
There are only a couple rules that apply to tucking.  The machines won’t allow you to tuck 2 adjacent needles and best not to exceed more than 3 or 4 tucked rows.
 
Tucked stitched fabrics stretch more than plain stockinette, especially sideways.  So if you are mixing tuck with stockinette knitting, be sure to swatch both stitches to arrive at a gauge for each that will complement each other and properly work in to your project.

Any punch card or electronic tuck pattern may be performed by manually pulling out corresponding needles to HP on the KX350 and knitting appropriate rows.  These are just a few of the possibilities.
Leave an evenly spaced needle out of work to create a lacy effect.   Do some experimenting! 

Fall is On It's Way

(Click on photo to enlarge)

Well, looks like fall is coming.  After such a hot and dry summer, it's kind of a relief to have it cooler but I'm not a cold weather person so I'm hating the thoughts of what comes after fall.  We had a good population of hummingbirds again this year although we think the first batch of babies became victims of the heat.  But they had a good second hatching.  They kept me pretty busy making bird food and keeping their feeders filled for awhile.  They've left for their migration south now so all we have left are the memories, pictures....feeders and bird poop to clean up.


(Click on photo to enlarge)





This morning, my husband caught a shot of this handsome guy browsing thru what was our garden.  Spose he was looking for morsels left over from the garden.  Not a very good picture taken thru 2 panes of glass, but exciting to see anyway.

That's another sad story when the garden gets mowed off.  Everything is done now but I do have a few tomatoes in the refrigerator yet.

Dyeing Yarn for Stripes

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(click on photos to enlarge)

I am not a pro dyer by any stretch of the imagination but I do enjoy dyeing, especially for socks.  I started out with KoolAid and food dyes about 3 years ago and was soon disappointed by their lack of colorfastness so I graduated to retail acid dyes.  I use acid dyes from DharmaTrading.com or ProChem One Shot from Prochemicalanddye.com.  Either work great and there are many more other available brands.  The word ‘acid’ always scared me until I learned that acid only meant that the dyes need acid to set the colors, usually in the form of vinegar or citric acid.  The biggest differences I’ve found between working with food grade dyes and acid dyes is that I can’t use my kitchen utensils or appliances with acid dyes, and retail acid dyes are much cheaper to use than KoolAid.  Other than that, principles and procedures are basically the same.  So what I learned from using KoolAid has carried with me to acid dyeing.

Here, I’m going to show you how I dye yarn to make perfectly defined stripes in socks. I use a wool/nylon yarn from a cone so I first started out by winding off about 4 oz of yarn.  I knew I wanted 5 stripes of one color and 3 of another in my pattern.  So I roughly calculated the knitted length of one row on my sock and multiplied it by 8 for the total number of rows in one color pattern repeat.  The 8 rows came out to about 22 feet.  So I measured off my wrapping setup to be 11 feet apart.  In this particular example I put 2 clamps on our deck railing 11 feet apart.  It was handy at the time.  I’ve been known to use a chair back and a door knob spaced 11 feet apart, 2 chairs, or anything else that comes to mind. 

Winding the yarn

Yarn tied off

I then tightly tied off 3/8^th and 5/8^th of the entire length of 22’ to make 2 sections.  One section was about 8.5’ and the other was 13.5’ long.   I wasn’t real precise in my measurements and calculations but it worked out well anyway.  Then I used some acrylic or cotton yarn pieces and made figure 8s a couple feet apart to keep the yarn from tangling during the dyeing and rinsing process.

I soaked the yarn in luke warm water with a bit of dish soap or Synthrapol, sozzled it well, rinsed the soap out and continued to soak while I mixed the dyes.  Since I don’t have a dedicated place to dye with acid dyes, I set up my dye ‘factory’ with a crockpot (not used for food) on our covered back deck.  Works just fine, except during the winter so I try to do my dyeing in warm weather.  When I had the dye mix prepared and in the crockpot, I removed the yarn from soaking and squeezed out (never wring yarn) as much water as I could and placed the first section of yarn in the dye mix.  

Dyeing 1st color

2nd color dyeing

I followed the dye manufacturer’s instructions, heated the dye mix to 200 deg F for 30 minutes.  Then I added about 2T of vinegar and left the heat on til the color was exhausted.  If all the color is not exhausted after about 15 minutes or so, I add another 2T of vinegar.  Then I let it cool down to handling temperature and rinse til the water ran clear.  Sometimes I use too much dye powder and must rinse a lot to get all the excess dye out before it rinses clear. 

Hang to dry

Then I repeated the process for the 2^nd section of yarn for the 2^nd color, untied the marker ties and made sure to overlap the colors to prevent white spots.  I used related colors for the stripes because I didn’t want a 3^rd color popping up unexpectedly where the 2 sections overlapped. 

After dyeing and rinsing, I squeezed out as much water as I could, then laid it out on an old bath towel, rolled it up and walked on it to get out more water.  Hang til dry and wind into a cake.  Nice striped yarn, easy as that.

You can use this same method to have a 3^rd stripe of a different color.  Just add more yarn to the total length and tie off in 3 sections instead of 2.  You will need to dip and dye a 3^rd time which will add significant time to the process….or leave one section undyed and have a natural colored stripe along with the 2 colors. 
 

DIY Decker Comb

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I have a wonderful update to this post.  A friend on Ravelry sent her husband on a mission to find a 'better' answer to holding stitches on the DIY Decker tool than the report cover sliders and binder clip.  He came home with a pack of hair bands and they do indeed work better.  They cling to the tool better, hold the stitches in place while turning, less cumbersome and no binder clip to get in the way.  It was a great discovery.

* * * * * * * * *
I’ve made a lot of socks in my knitting career and most assuredly will make more.  I make my socks on a Brother KH965i flatbed standard gauge machine with ribber, most of them knit in the round from cuff down.  This means making the ribbed cuff and transferring a portion of the ribbing to the other bed to convert knitting to circular for the remainder of the sock.  I so dislike seams in my socks and will knit in the round whenever I can. 

Until just a few weeks ago, I did the usual thing with scrapping off the ribbing sections that needed to be transferred and rehung onto the main bed.  I like the seam of my ribbing to go up the back of the sock so after moving all the stitches to the ribber bed, I transfer the outside quarter number of ribbing sts on each side to the main bed.  Then a friend (Cacher12) from Ravelry.com clued me in on Decker combs, which were manufactured only for 5mm Passap machines.  She explained to me what they were and how to use them and even made a great YouTube video to actually show how to use them.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4009HWBjY4
So I was on the hunt to find something that would replicate the Passap Decker combs for my Japanese machine.  Voila!    

I ordered a 68 prong ‘garter bar’ from Mr. Sunny Choi from e-bay and cut off a length of 22 prongs for transferring my sock ribbing.  And I still have a length of 46 prongs to use for other applications.  The ‘real’ Passap Decker combs are 24 prongs and come with a metal slider to cover the ends of the prongs to keep the stitches from dropping off while transferring.  I found that the plastic slider bars from report covers will work but they don’t stay on real well without some help.  So along comes a small binder clip.  The ‘handles’ of the clip kind of get in the way sometimes when turning and transferring but is easy to deal with now that I've gotten the hang of it.

The setup works wonderfully!  No more scrapping off and rehanging sock ribbing for this lady.  I am so happy with it, could be my most valuable machine accessory right now!

The 20 prong short garter bar from KrisKrafter.com works just as magnificently as a Decker comb on my 6.5mm midgauge machine.

Add a Bill to a Cap

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It's quite easy actually to add a bill to a cap.  I used a favorite cap pattern, knit on my bulky machine with 80 sts at T9 with a bulky yarn.  This particular cap features a non-stretchy band, which I doubled in length to accomodate a fold over band.  If I were putting a bill on a stretchy band such as ribbing, I probably would stabilize the front part of the band before attaching the bill, maybe with a slip stitch at the fold line or something similar.  So I made the hat and added the bill like this:

1)  Fold the band in half lengthwise and loosely
tack down to the beginning row of the hat body, picking up
the inner edge stitch loop of the band only.

2) With wrong side facing, hang 30 sts from
the front center of the hat band.  Somewhat stretch the
band while picking up stitches.

3)  T9, K1R to L.

4)  RC000, Put machine on hold.  On carriage side, bring
out the first working needle to hold position.  T8, Knit across.

5)  Repeat on the right hand side.

6)  Continue to shortrow decrease in this manner with the following needles on each side:
               1, 1, 2, 1, 2, 1 = 24 rows   (8 sts on each side in HP, 14 sts in work in center)

7)  When the same number of needles are in HP on each side, reverse the shaping to increase in the same order as above (1, 2, 1, 2, 1, 1) until all needles are back into work, except 1 on each side.  Put both needles into working position and knit across.  Wrap the 1^st needle on carriage side on each pass to prevent holes.  Leave a long tail of yarn for sewing.

8)  Scrap off with several rows of waste yarn.

9)  Insert a 'moon' shaped piece of heavy Pellon interfacing between the layers and pin in place.  Just a note that the more rounded the 'moon' shape is against the head, the less it will flop down.

10) Evenly across, blanket stitch each live stitch of the bill to the first  stitch of the band.  Remove waste yarn.

11) After the bill has been sewn down with the Pellon inserted, inconspicuously tack in several places on the underside of the bill with a sewing needle and thread to hold the Pellon in place during wearing and laundry. 

12)  Work 1 row of crocheted (latch tool) slip stitch on the inside of the bill, going thru each stitch of the bill and picking up a stitch from the inside layer of the band.  This will keep it from stretching and to help keep the bill from flopping down.

Long Stocking Hat

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Machine:  Standard, Brother 965i without ribber
Yarn:  Tamm Bebe, approx  9 oz total
Tension:  6
Gauge:  7.5 sts, 11 rows = 1”
Size:   Woman's Med (20” circumference without stretching, 34”- 37” long total)

1)   CO 152 sts with scrap and ravel cord.
2)   RC000, Knit to RC100.
3)   Hang hem and K1R at T8.
4)   T6, Knit to RC121.
5)   RC000, with a 3 prong transfer tool, work decreases on each side of
       every 5th row 25 times, then every 4th row 42 times til 16 sts remain,
       til RC297.  
       NOTE:  For a 3” cuff to turn up, dec on each side of every 5^th row every
       58 times, then every 4^th row 10 times, til 16 sts remain at RC330.
6)   Gather sts on needles and secure.

Finishing:
Sew side seam in mattress stitch and hide all yarn tails.
Add a large pompom if desired.

NOTES: 
This hat can be made on any machine with appropriate yarn by multiplying the number of sts per inch by the circumference needed.  Can make any length desired. 

I used the Magic Formula calculator at http://www.getknitting.com/ak_0603mfcalc.aspx  to determine decreases.

The stripe pattern was formulated by the random stripe generator at http://www.biscuitsandjam.com/stripe_maker.php.

Christmas Stocking, Midgauge



Christmas is knocking on our door so it's time to get some knitting done.  These stockings are very easy and quick to make.  Can be done on any machine but gauge and yarn will determine its size.  Instead of stripes, try some fairisle patterning.  No ribber is needed as this stocking features a mock ribbed cuff but a machine with ribber will allow you to make a ribbed cuff of choice. 

slisen.blogspot dot com

Machine:  KX350 or SK860

4 ply worsted yarn, 3.5 oz per stocking

T7 for body

T5 for mock rib

T6 for heel and toe

Gauge:  Unimportant

Size:  Approx 20” long, 6” wide

 

MOCK RIBBED CUFF:

1)  CO EON 56 sts, with scrap yarn.

2)  T5, Knit 6 rows with scrap yarn.  COL.

3)  K1R ravel cord.  COR.

4)  RC000.  Knit 24 rows.  COR.

5)  Remove CO comb and weights.

6)  Hang hem to fill empty needles.  (You will have 2 sts on the right hand side.) 

BODY:

1)  Pull all needles to hold position.  Rehang CO comb and weights.

2)  RC000, T7, K60 rows in desired pattern. COR.   

HEEL: 

1)  Put machine on hold in both directions.  Use plenty of weights and downward pressure with fingers to ensure that all stitches knit properly, especially on the edges of the short rows.

2)  T6.  Put left half of sts into hold position.

3)  Short row down to 11 sts and back out. 

          To Short Row:

a.   COR.  Place 1 st on cam side into hold each row, K across.  Repeat til 11 sts remain in work. (8-11-9  sts)

b.   COL.  Place 1 st on carriage side into hold AND 1 st opposite carriage into work.  K 1 row.

c.    Place 1 st opposite carriage into work each row and manually wrap the ndl on the carriage side (to prevent holes), K across.  Repeat til all but 1 st is in work right of ‘0’.  COR.

d.   Bring all needles to hold position, take machine off hold.  

INSTEP:

T7,  RC000.  Knit 30 rows in pattern as desired.  COR.

TOE:

1)  T6,  Follow instructions for heel.

2)  Cut yarn, leaving a 30” tail. 

3)  Put on to scrap and remove from machine. 

FINISHING:

Toe:  Kitchener the toe seam –OR- put half the needles out of work.  With right sides together, fold stocking in half and hang the body stitches with the sts behind the latches.  Hang toe stitches from the other half in front of the latches.  Close latches and pull the front sts thru the back sts so that one st remains on each needle.  Bring needles to hold position and K1R to the L at T9.  Back stitch bind off. 

Remove scrap yarns. 

Sew up side seam with mattress stitch.  Sew bell to toe and/or embellish as desired. 

Crochet a chain of desired length or make a 36 row I-cord at T3 for the hanger and securely attach to hem edge of the cuff.

 

Links and Spam

Guess I did a no-no in the blogging world.  When I save or print an article from someone else's blog, I always copy/paste the link into what I want to save so I can remember where I found it 6 months from now.  So I came up with the brilliant idea to include the link to my blog in the text body of each of my patterns so it'd be there for those who chose to save or print them out.  Well, Google didn't like me doing that a whole lot and I was notified that I had created a spam blog and that it'd be deleted if I didn't appeal their claim.  Well, I did the appeal and went back and changed the real link to read 'slisen dot blogspot dot com'.  It won't link back to my blog now but atleast you will be able to find the origin later.  So that's the reason for all the edits today.  And I'll try to be good from now on.  :-)

Happy knitting! 

How I Shortrow Sock Heels and Toes

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1.    To decrease in shortrowing, lower the ribber one notch, change to main carriage arm and put on hold, hang weights on front of work, at carriage side pull 1 ndl into hold position for automatic wrap and knit across. Hang weights as needed on the main bed work.

2.  Continue pulling the needle next to the carriage into hold position til there are desired number of sts left in working position. (The general rule is that 1/3 sts remain in work, however this is not necessary. Stay as close as you can to 1/3, but it is important that you have the same number of even sts in hold on each side before beginning the increase work).

3.  When you have the desired number of needles in work and the needle closest to the carriage pulled to hold position AND the same number of sts in hold on each side, do NOT knit across…immediately increase back out by putting 2 ndls opposite the carriage back into working position and then knit across.

4.  On subsequent rows, pull one needle at beg of each row on the carriage side into hold position AND two needles opposite the carriage into working position each row til all needles except a set of two needles on each side are again in working position.

5.  When increased back out to one group of two sts left on each side, put both sets back into work at the same time and knit across.

6.  To prevent a hole at heel sides, on both edges, use a single transfer tool to pick up the ‘purl heel’ of the first stitch on the main bad and transfer it to the 1st needle of the ribber
bed.

7.  A big thanks goes to ‘Vonkad’ on Ravelry for sharing the stitch crossing technique.  It is wonderful every time. 
http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/machine-knitting/1272821/1-25

Toe Up Socks in the Round

I'm knitting socks for Christmas gifts and have varied sizes to make.  One gal has a pretty large and long foot so I was kind of concerned about having enough yarn in my 100 gram ball to make the cuff and ankle as long as I normally do.  So when I have a large foot to fit or using a yarn that I haven't had experience with before, I usually do a toe up sock so I can take advantage of all the yarn without running out at the toe like could happen if I knit larger sizes with my favorite cuff down method.  I don't mind knitting toe up, but I dislike the seams in either the side of the ankle or on both sides of the ribbing as is the norm with toe up socks.  So, I came up with this method.  I'm not setting any speed records with this method but atleast I don't have to deal with the pesky side seams and I know I won't run out of yarn at the toes. 

I first divide my yarn into 2 cakes of equal length or weight of yarn.  I have a postal scale that weighs to a tenth of an ounce so that works well.  I knit 2 identical cuffs first, transfer the ribber sts to the main bed and knit 2 rows across at main tension.  Then scrap off with several rows of waste yarn and set aside.  Then I knit 2 identical toe up socks in the round and run my available yarn as far as it will go in the ankle and again scrap off.  I jot down the number of rows that I did in the first sock so I know how many rows to knit for the second one. 

Then I graft the cuff to the ankle.  My favorite grafting method is from the purl side so I lay the cuff onto the sock with right sides together and the scrap yarn enveloped between the layers.  The seam of the ribbing can be placed anywhere desired; I like it to go up the back center. 

If I'm using a patterned yarn and want matching socks, I make sure that I start each component of the sock at the same place in the color/pattern repeat.

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Chemo Bucket Hat

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Machine:  Bulky
Yarn:  Peaches and Crème worsted cotton, 3.5 oz
Tension:  T6   (T5 for smaller hat)
Gauge:   4.25 sts, 6.5 rows = 1”
Size:  Woman’s medium, 21” head circumference

Brim:
1.   Scrap and ravel cord CO 85 sts.
2.   T7 (or T8 for a more flared brim), knit 14 rows.
3.   Either work a picot row by transferring every other 
      st to its neighbor to the right  -OR-  make a turn row 
      by knitting across all ndls at T10.
4.   T7 (or T8 as before), knit 13 rows.
5.   Hang hem from the first row of CO sts.

Body:
1.   T6, knit 1 row.
2.   If desired make an eyelet row by transferring every 3rd st to its neighbor to the right.
3.   Knit 20 more rows for a total of 21 rows, or height desired.

Crown Shaping:
1.   Begin crown shaping by:
      a.  Transferring every 11^th st to its neighbor to the right.
      b.  Use a 3 prong transfer tool, garter bar, or by scrapping off and
            rehanging to move the stitches together to fill the empty
            needles. 
      c.   Knit 2 rows.
      d.   Continue decreasing by transferring every 10th st to its   
            neighbor to the right, move sts together and K2 rows.
      e.   Transfer every 9^th st to its neighbor to the right, move sts
             together and knit 2 rows.
      f.    Continue in this manner til 15 sts remain. 
2.  Knit 1 row.
3.  Cut yarn and gather thru the live sts on the needles and fasten off.
4.  Sew side seam with a flat Bickford type seam.

Note:  If using a ribber, this hat may be knit in the round after the brim by transferring half the needes to the ribber bed and setting machine for circular knitting.


Notes:
Can make any size by adjusting number of CO sts and rows.

Launder in washer on low temp and dry in a warm dryer until damp dry.  Then remove and form to head, work the brim to flare out and let air dry completely.

Run a ribbon, I-cord or braid thru the eyelet row to allow for size adjustment.

If not making an eyelet row, you may work a row of chain stitches over the first row above the hung hem.